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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. FAIRMAN. MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

No. 448,217. Patented Mar. 17, 1891.

Elm? arm-Ker (No Model.) 2 Sheetsr-Sheet 2.

J. FAIRMAN.

MUSIGAL INSTRUMENT.

No. 448,217. Pa-tentedMar. 17, 1891.

Wimzmua vemor Wfinfm ML UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES FAIRMAN, OF NElV YORK, N. Y.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 448,217, dated March 17, 1891.

Application filed August 30, 1890. $erial No. 363,969. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Janus FAIRMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is for the purpose of increasing the resonance and improving the tone of violins and instruments of that class. Violins as at present constructed comprise top and bottom pieces, or back and belly, inclosed by side pieces or walls giving form to the instrument, and a neck formed of a solid piece of wood with a linger-board and nut glued solidly thereto, and all closed solid at the nut or screw-box end. A base-bar, as it is called, is attached to the inner side of the belly to strengthen the front below the bass or G string. A sounding-post is placed below the bridge, resting upon the back and supporting the belly. The resonance or vibration induced in the belly by a bow drawn across the strings of the violin is propagated in the direction of the grain of the woodthat is to say, from end to end of the instrument, that being the way of the grain. Therefore in violins as now constructed the vibration is limited iii-space and prevented from reaching the entire belly because the vibrations, in order to control the side portionsof the belly, must be propagated transverse to the wide front end portion of the belly receiving this vibration through the narrow neck of wood formed by the shape of the violin andthc position and shape of the holes. The resistance to motion or vibration increases as lines are drawn in any direction from the bridge, which is the medium for the transmission of the motion which produces the sound. The power of the motion induced in the belly by the bridge is diminished in the parts remote from the bridge by reason of its distance from the source of vibration. It has been customary heretofore in some cases to grade the thickness of the belly from the axial mid-line latorally to secure flexibility. This has been successful to a limited degree only in securing the desired vibration. In violins as heretofore constructed the tones produced by a string when pressed upon the finger-board are less free and strong than those produced by the open string. This is caused largely by the solid non-vibrating character of the fin ger-board and neck.

The object of my invention is to give increased vibration and sensibility to the violin and secure uniformity of vibration in the entire belly of the instrument and improved conditions to these ends by well-known principles of acoustic science applied to the making of violins.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention.

Figure l is a top view of the belly of a violin provided with my improvement. Fig. 2 is a view of the inner side of the belly provided with my invention. Dotted lines suggest a modification hereinafter explained. The walls of the violin are shown in section. Fig. 8 is a transverse section of the belly on line 00 as, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line y y, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a fragmentarylongitudinal section of the violin, showing the position and arrangement of the sounding-post and its vibrating bridges. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section of the neck and upper part of a violin, with the finger-board removed and inverted, showing the channels out in the neck and finger-board, whereby a vibratory column of air is produced between the linger-board and neck. Fig. 7 is an end view of a violin embodying my invention, showing the neck in transverse section on line .2 .2, Fig. (3.

In my improved instrument the belly A may be made of uniform thickness through out, except that the belly is provided with a groove B of uniform depth extending all the way around the inner side of the walls C of the instrument. This groove is designed to confine the fiexion ot' the wood of the belly chiefly to that portion of the wood which faces the groove. This construction causes the entire body of the belly inside of the groove to partake of the vibrations, and there by increases the resonant power of the in strument. The groove is about half an inch in width and may be a sixteenth of an inch in depth, depending upon the quality of the wood. It should reduce the wood to about one-half its general thickness-that is to say,

if the belly is one-eighth of an inch thick the groove should be about one-sixteenth of an inch deep.

To secure lateral diffusion orspreading of the vibration transverse to the grain of the wood in the belly, the belly is provided on the inner face with a transverse lining or strips D of wood, extending from the mid-line of the belly laterally. These strips or lining may be broad or narrow and may be united or detached from each other, but in all cases are so disposed as to carry the vibration along the grain of the strips or lining from the center toward the sides and ends of the Violin. By this means the vibratory movement from the center or from the bridge, as the case maybe, is communicated along the strips to the whole belly, according to the law that the greatest propagation of vibration in wood is in the direction of the grain of the wood. The strips or linings referred to have the grain running lengthwise. I make the belly of the violin so much thinner than usual as to allow for the added strips without increasing the aggregate of wood ordinarily used in a belly.

Instead of mounting the soundingpost E in the ordinary manner to bear direct upon the back of the violin, which is rigid, thus allowing little if any vibratory motion .to correspond with that of the belly, I introduce a small vibratory sounding-post supporting.

bridge F, arranged longitudinally of the violin and resting upon two supportil'ig-blocks G, which are arranged with an interval or space between them and rest upon the back I of the violin and communicate the entire vibrations of the belly to the wood of the back I at two points of the instrument. This construction allows greater resonant motion in the belly, thus improving the quality and power of the tone. This bridge is arranged lengthwise of the back and is about two incheslong.

The f holes through the belly of the instrument as now constructed greatly limit the surface subject to the vibrations made through the bridge and divide the column of resonant air from within the violin into two spaces, which by their position cut off the natural escape of the sound-waves. I provide the belly with sound-emitting holes or open spaces I-I, corresponding to the f holes of a violin, having their outer margins coincident, or nearly. so, respectively, with the lines of the inner faces of the side walls of the instrument, and extending such holes forward to the broad part of the instrument about an inch farther toward the neck or finger-board than in the present construction. The advantages of this arrangement are twofoldviz., the sound-waves reflected from the side walls pass out without the obstruction which occurs by reason of the projecting ledges between the walls of the f holes as on dinarily formed, and a greater width of vibratory material is thus provided for the transmission of vibration from the bridge to the head chamber. The strips D are preferably placed diagonal or radiate, as shown in Fig. 2, but satisfactory results may be obtained by arranging the strips separately directly across the instrument, as shown by dotted-lines in Fig. 2. They maybe of any length, but I prefer to extend them from side to slde, either diagonally or transversely. The str1ps may be of greater or less width and may be made of such width as to form a complete transverse lining for the inside of the belly at either or both ends.

To improve the vibratory qualities of the instrument, I provide it between its neck J and finger-board M with a tubular cav1ty K arranged longitudinal of the neck and hav ng sound-emitting openings at each end, such cavity being as large as admissible, retaining the strength of the neck, the openings at both ends being necessary in view of the law of acoustics that a, column of air in a tube closed at one end accents one definite tone, while if it is open at both ends it will give additional volume to all tonesindiscriminately. This cavity is formed by hollowing out or cutting a channel 0 in the upper side of the neck J of the violin and a corresponding channel 0 on the under side of the finger-board M, so that when the fingerboard and the neck are united they form the tube.

To strengthen the neck, I provide a lining of stiffening-wood L.

Satisfactory results can be secured without extending the chamber or cavity of the tube to the upper end of the finger-board, and, if desired, the nut may fit solidly against the neck as in ordinary violins, and if the neck is sufficiently strong without the lining L such linin'g may be omitted.

The several distinctive features hereinbefore described are separately valuable, but when combined and included in one instrument they so modify each other as to produce a tone not otherwise secured.

Now, having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. As a new article of manufacture, a musical instrument of the class specified, provided between its neck and finger-board with a tubular cavity and providedwith a sounding-post bridge, and having its belly provided with the transverse lining and with the.

groove extending around on the inner side of the belly close to the line of the inner side of the walls of the instrument, and also provided with the sound-emitting holes having their outer margins coincident, respectively, with the inner faces to the walls.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a musical instrument of the class specified, provided with a sounding-post bridge, and havin g its belly provided with the transverse lining and with the groove extending around on the inner side of the belly close to the line of the inner side of the walls of the instrument, and also provided with the sound-emitting holes having their outer margins coincident, respectively, with the inner face of the side Walls.

3. A musical instrument of the class specified, having its belly provided with a groove extending around on the inner side of the belly close to the inner side of the Walls of the instrument.

4. A musical instrument of the class specified, having its belly provided on the inner face with a transverse lining extending from the middle of the belly laterally, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. A musical instrument of the class specified, having its belly provided on its inner face with the radiate strips.

6. A musical instrument of the class speciiied, provided with the vibratory soundingpost-snpporting bridge arranged longitudinally of the violin and resting upon two supporting-blocks, both resting upon the back of the violin.

7. A musical instrument of the class specified, having its belly provided with soundemitting holes having their outer margins approximately coincident, respectively, with the inner face of the side walls of the instrument.

8. A musical instrument of the class specifled, having its belly provided with the soundemitting holes H, corresponding to the f holes of a violin, having their outer margins approximately coincident, respectively, With the line of the inner face of the side Walls of the instrument and extending forward to the broad part of the instrument, as set forth.

9. A musical instrument of the class specified, provided between its neck and fingerboard With a tubular cavity arranged longitudinal of the neck and having sound-emitting openings at each end.

J AMES FAIRMAN.

lVit-nesses:

JAMES R. TOWNSEND, ALFRED I. TOWNSEND. 

